Locals Marietta impressed us immensely with the release of their twinkly sophomore effort As It Were. (You can read our review of it here). The band just announced a 21+ show at Johnny Brenda’s October 12th alongside the Japanese rock act Tricot. You can purchase tickets for the event here. Continue reading →

A long two years ago, Marietta brought their first full-length release, Summer Death, to local listeners eager to hear more than just a few demos and singles. With the death of legendary Philly twinkly emo bands Snowing and Algernon Cadwallader about two years before, the masses seemed ready to lay Philly emo to rest for a while. But Summer Death presented a fresh, revitalized take on the genre, catapulting Marietta into every basement of the city, and everyone’s heart.

Marietta specialize in high-energy live performances with an abundance of anthemic group chants. These antics landed them on gigs with indie/emo heavyweights like Braid, Old Gray, A Great Big Pile of Leaves, and Modern Baseball. But towards the end of these tours, and when the band entered the studio to record their second full length, I was left wondering “What will their next album sound like? Will it be a slump?” And I’m sure a lot of other people were asking the same question.

Eric Osman said “one second” and ran to check if a box of candy left by concertgoers had anything left inside. Unfortunately, the founder of Lame-O Records was disappointed by the lack of chocolate, but stoked by just about everything else – including a huge crowd’s response to his label’s charity split. Continue reading →

It’s always great when a handful of Philly bands come together to collaborate. But it’s even greater when this collaboration is fueled for a good cause.

The upcoming Strength inWeakness EP, due out on Lame-O Records,is the product of original tracks from six Philly bands: Spraynard, The Weaks, Modern Baseball, Marietta, Beach Slang and Hurry. Album proceeds will be donated to both the Philadelphia chapter of United Cerebral Palsy as well as the national branch. Continue reading →

In less than nine hours, the records of the Lame-O Records charity split, Strength In Weakness, completely sold out. All of the proceeds from the split benefit United Cerebral Palsy. As part of the release, Philly’s Modern Baseball released their latest tongue twister of a song, “Alpha Kappa Fall Of Troy The Movie Part Deux.” Continue reading →

The Hotelier plays an all-ages show at The Fire. They headline TWOB Fest this weekend | photo by Rachel Del Sordo

DIY punk’s openness, accessibility and ability to survive (and thrive) hinges upon the existence of the right mix of venues. For the most part, Philadelphia has just that. The scene here is so nurturing that just about anyone can start a band, write a few songs, practice them and eventually, play a show. That conduciveness can almost seem passé sometimes just because we’re so acclimated to it, but the reality is that it’s just not like that in most cities. It takes a lot of hard work, some clever maneuvering, and the right mix of personalities to save a subculture from stagnation. In Philadelphia, that means a plethora of non-traditional, not-exactly-legal venues. Pennsylvania’s draconian alcohol laws, along with operating costs that are almost universally prohibitive for broke punks, mean that the vast majority of all-ages punk shows here are happening off the grid in musty basements, dirty kitchens and cavernous lofts, which makes for a uniquely wonderful, but perhaps unsustainable experience.

Daniel Anderson wants to create something sustainable. Since 2011, he and his roommate Ruben Polo have run local label Kat Kat Records, while booking shows both in their own West Philadelphia basement and at others across the city. They’ve also booked festivals of their own, beginning with Kat Kat Phest and culminating with the inaugural TWOB Fest this weekend, which will see local favorites like Kite Party, Marietta and By Surprise performing alongside out-of-town acts like Laura Stevenson, Sundials and The Hotelier to raise money for an all-ages, DIY show space in Philadelphia to hopefully open in the fall. Continue reading →

The Fire held an all-emo showcase Sunday night, bringing together Florida punk four piece You Blew It! alongside New Jersey’s Prawn, New York’s Crying, and Philly’s Marietta and Secret Plot to Destroy the Entire Universe. Each band brought their emotional cues forward in their own way, showcasing how creative and loud they can be with the copious amount of tiresome energy that come through in their music.

Secret Plot opened up the night with a set of their vocally-driven and abrasive songs. Teetering in that delicate spot between destructive and beautiful, this band sure knows how to get their feelings across, especially live. New songs filled their performance, and the band mentioned that an album is in the works. Keep an eye out for that, and check out their other stuff on Bandcamp.

Local emo four piece Marietta was up next, playing a set of tracks from their debut album Summer Death. Their twinkly riffs and huge crescendos made for a terrific sing-a-long experience. The band plays faster and yells a little harder live, which really showcases their punk influence and how invested these guys are in the feelings of their songs. Drummer Andrew Weigel was especially crazy to see live; during some of the build ups he would be absolutely pounding on his toms while also shouting the lyrics at the top of his lungs. Listen to Summer Death here. Continue reading →

After a month-long tour together along the Northeast, Marietta and Secret Plot will reunite for the show. Though Secret Plot hasn’t released any new music since its last album, I Only Miss You When I Want To, came out in December 2012, they might share some of the new material they’ve been working on for a reported full-length on Kit Kat Records. This will be one of Secret Plot’s last shows in town until they return from a month-long March tour.

Joining them are twinkly pop punk band Marietta, who released their 8-track album Summer Death appropriately in October. In late January, the band announced a limited-edition new pressing of the eight-song album on marbled “red and white wine” vinyl in honor of “Wineuary.” The reissue will come out via Soft Speak Records.

The all-ages show starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $10, or in advance for $8 here.

The Hundred Acre Woods will play opening night of Kat Kat Fest on Saturday | photo by Ally Newbold Photography

Think of last year’s first Kat Kat Phest as an accident that went almost as smoothly as the organizers could have asked for.

“There were seven or eight different bands that hit one of us up saying, ‘Hey, I need a show,’ in a four-day period, “ says the Philly-based indie label founder Daniel Anderson about what happened around this time last year. “By the end of it, all four days had a show, and we were just like, ‘Whatever, let’s just make it a four-day thing with some after shows.’”

Anderson started Kat Kat Records in order to help out friends’ bands and put out their records, so requests for help booking shows in the area were not uncommon. That’s why his friend Ruben Polo (also his band-mate in the local four-piece Secret Plot to Destroy the Entire Universe) started helping out with promoting events, which he also does for a living.

For a last-minute festival with mostly touring bands on the bill, the two organizers couldn’t have imagined it would go so well, even selling out the show on the final day.

“[Our band] left for an eight-week tour after that, and off and on, we were just talking about, ‘Who should we get next year? We should do this for real,’” Anderson says. “Last year’s was kind of an accident. This year is a test to see if we can make it go as well when we’ve actually meant to do it.”

So this weekend, DIY musicians and local music supporters will once again gather for Phest 2, which will span five days, feature eight all-ages shows and boast about 50 bands. The all-festival passes, a bargain at $22, were sold out by December 20. Saturday night’s show with local heroes Smoother and Marietta, as well as New York-based Lemuria headlining, was moved to the North Star Bar after selling out at The Fire. But tickets are still available for all eight shows, a la carte style, at the show’s Facebook event page, and they range from $3 to $10…so it’s still a lot of bang for your buck.

Several bands associated with Kat Kat Records will also play this year’s Phest, including By Surprise,Hightide Hotel and Tyler Daniel Bean. But Anderson and Polo don’t make it a priority to put their own bands on the bill.

“If bands deserve to play cool shows and work really hard and are good people, then they play what they should play,” Anderson says. Continue reading →

About The Key

Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH

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About The Key

Philadelphia: Home to a rich musical history, a unique musical identity, and one of the nation's most thriving musical communities. In a scene filled with so many local bands worth listening to, there will always be new music to discover—and The Key is your source for finding it. Brought to you by WXPN—the non-commercial public radio station that World Cafe, XPN2, and XPoNential Music Festival call home—The Key covers all local music in Greater Philly and beyond.GET IN TOUCH